


Cambridge

by littlebell_captain



Series: For The People [4]
Category: For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: Breaking Cannon, College AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 20:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20263819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebell_captain/pseuds/littlebell_captain
Summary: Littlebell college AU at Harvard** I am the President of the Harvard Hate Club (and no it’s not because I go to Yale, because I don’t) but I will set that aside for the sake of fiction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I leave for college a week from today so it felt timely to start writing this. Enjoy 18 year-old Littlebell as freshmen at Harvard :’)

It was a particular chilly August that year. Sandra and her dad sold their old house to a close family friend, packed up their lives, and roadtriped across the country to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sandra had a lot of options. She had applied to many Ivy Leagues, a DC school, and a few in California. Of course, she got into all of them with various scholarship offers. The map on her bedroom wall had a pin for every city she could have chosen to call home: Berkeley, Stanford, Washington DC, New York, New Haven, Providence, Cambridge, Hanover. And respectively: UC Berkeley, Stanford, Georgetown, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Harvard, and Dartmouth. As the list runs, the college years of her life took her further and further away from the place she called home for eighteen years.

The choice was never just about the institution, but about whether to leave or to stay. And if she left, what about her dad? It’s just the two of them against the world. 

But then, one day, her dad walked into the room while she was intensely focused on writing out her pro-con list on a whiteboard. He read the point about him. And he said, startling his daughter, “If you choose an Ivy League, we can move if you want me there with you.”

”Are you sure?” Sandra would ask him again, for the millionth time, months later. Her mouse hovering over the button that says “SUBMIT”.

”Yes. Are you? Is Harvard absolutely the one?”

”Yes.”

”Okay. It seems like you’ve made your choice.”

When it came down to it: Sandra was curious about the east coast. She wondered about that life and what it had in store for her. That narrowed it down a little. Her conviction that she would end up in New York City and Washington DC someday for her career, and therefore she didn’t need to move there immediately, ruled out two more. Between Yale, Brown, Harvard, and Dartmouth: She didn’t like New Haven as much as she adored Yale. She didn’t like Brown as much as she adored Providence. If only they could swap locations. Dartmouth was too much in the wilderness. Harvard was good. Boston was captivating. Cambridge was lovely. And Harvard was something of a myth. And besides, she got a full scholarship. That’s one less thing her dad will have to worry about. Paying rent for an apartment in Cambridge is bad enough. There is only so much that a private high school teacher’s salary can do.

Their trip there took many days and many stops. It was a relocation, a college move-in, and a summer road trip all at once. In what feels like an instance and months later, they finally pull up to a small apartment complex in the quieter parts of Cambridge. It’s small and simple, but well-kept. It’s their new home. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I write this, there are two suitcases laying on my bedroom floor, almost packed. I am not done yet. There is still shopping left to do and things like my phone and keys can't be packed until the morning I leave, but most of it is done. I leave in five days. This is crazy.

Kate unloads the last of her boxes from her car. She found it in one of those parking lots that sell second-handed cars two years ago and couldn't believe how affordable it was, and in such good condition, too. She had just gotten her license and even at the age of sixteen, she could not wait to get out of the small Census Designated Place where she grow up in a small farmhouse between two small towns on the James River. It was a beautiful place to grow up, but a suffocating one. Her father died in the mines when she was young and her mother was falling in and out of the grips of depression and alcoholism through Kate's teenage years. Kate didn't blame her. This is what grief and loss does to people in places like Rosewood. Her mom wasn't violent. Just sad. So sad. But at least her older brother and his wife were around. They took care of her, and of their mom, and of each other.

But Kate couldn't stay. She had to go. So, she filled out the college applications, all free because of her family's low-income economic status. She applied to schools all across the country, and the world: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Oxford, Cambridge. She was going to go as far as money will let her, as far as her valedictorian status will take her. One by one, the answers came. It came down to Harvard and Cambridge. (Yale and Oxford didn't make the list, sadly, because they didn't give her enough money to reasonably be able to attend.) Between Harvard and Cambridge, Cambridge came out on top, but it was far, and England was expensive. Harvard, though, was 10 hours away. She could always drive home and be back within the day if something awful happened or her family needed her. Besides, Harvard was giving her a full-ride. She could leave Virginia, get an Ivy League degree, and graduate without a single penny of debt. It was like a dream come true. 

And every single step of the way, that's what Kate expected it to be: a dream. She tippy-toed her way around life every single day, in paralyzing fear that the hardwork of a lifetime would vanish when she woke up. But little by little, minute by minute, anxiously and impatiently, it would be move-in day. She planned to go to sleep at eight the night before to get some rest in but couldn't sleep. By the time midnight rolled around, she gave up and got ready. Walking around her childhood bedroom, now almost barren, she replayed the memories of the past eighteen years. She tears up at the sight of the boxes on the floor, filled with the things she isn't bringing, like childhood toys and school binders from years past. The walls of her bedroom are bare now, the posters taken down, peeling walls illuminated by the nightlight still plugged into the wall. The ceiling light broke years ago and she packed away her lamp the day before.

Her brother and sister-in-law wake up a little after midnight and make Kate breakfast. Her mother, in a nightgown and an old worn cardigan from God knows how many years ago smile at her across the breakfast table, tears in her eyes. After they finish their meal, making light conversation, Kate offers to clean up. Her sister brushes her away with a hug. "Go spend time with your family. I've got this."

Kate thanks her with a smile and finds her mother and brother on the porch swing. They look up when she steps out of the house and make space for her to join them.

Her mother, showing rare physical affection, pulls her daughter in, and says, "I am so proud of you."

Kate smiles, a little teary.

"Dad would have been proud of you, too." Her mother continues as her brother reaches for her hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

They stay that way, mostly in silence, until Kate's phone goes off. "It's two am. I have to go."

"Okay." 

"I'll walk you," her brother offers.

Kate goes back into the house to grab her backpack from the dining room where it sits on the back of her chair.

Her sister puts down the dish in her hand and wipes her hands on her apron before embracing Kate. She squeezes her little sister-in-law tightly, pressing her lips to Kate's forehead, and says, in tears, "I am so proud of you. You're going to do great things and I cannot wait to hear about it."

"Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you for being here when mom wasn't."

"It's been the honor of my lifetime to watch you grow up into the woman you are today. Just don't forget me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Call me when you get there?"

"I will."

"Okay," she says, finally letting Kate go. But not before handing her a coffee in a thermos. "For the road. Don't fall asleep at the wheel. Play some upbeat music. Remember to get gas before you run out. Drive safe. And take this, too. Don't open it until you've settled in for the night."

Kate takes the box from her hand. There is an envelope attached to it. "Thank you."

"Bye, little one."

"Bye, Lila."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Let's go, then." Her brother grins, handing her her car keys.

The three of them wave her away as she drives into the distant northeast, away from the world she has known her whole life and towards the great perhaps.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate stopped at gas station somewhere in Maryland as the sun rose to grab a coffee (she ran out) and a muffin (she forgot to bring some of her breakfast from home) but hasn't had any other food since. By the time she got to Harvard, moved all her things, and parked her car where it's going to stay until the next time she needs it, she was starving and exhausted from her drive, half in the night. But better a noon arrival time than one in the morning. Some of the students had to move in between eight and noon instead of eight and noon. 

She follows the stream of students into the cafeteria, making no effort to speak to any of them. Some of them strike up conversation with their neighbors. Other seem to have already found friends. Kate just wanted food and to keep to herself. College is so overwhelming and at some point, it's going to hit her that she just moved away from the place she grew up and is now a solid six hundred miles away from her family, her few friends, and everything she has every known. When that revelation hits, it's going to come with a likely mental breakdown. She doesn't need to add sensory overload to that list. There is too much noise and too many people crowded around her as it is. 

She grabs some food and takes her seat at an empty table. A brunette sits on the other end, reading a book. Her phone rings and she picks it up. Kate notices, but just barely. "Hi, Dad.... No, it hasn't started yet. I got here an hour early.... Yeah.... I'm in the cafe.... No, I'm not hungry.... Yeah, I'm sure.... I just wanted something to drink and somewhere to sit and read.... No, I'm okay.... Good luck with your interview. Thanks for checking in.... Bye. I love you.... I'll see you at home soon.... Yeah.... Okay.... Bye!" She puts her phone on the table, face-down, takes a sip of her coffee, and goes back to reading. Kate notices the cover. It's Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America". Kate smiles at the title, and goes back to her food. 

At orientation, she coincidentally sits in the same row as the brunette from lunch, which didn't occur to Kate until someone sat down in between them and bumped into Kate in the process, causing the blonde to look up from her notebook, and fix her gaze on the book the other girl was reading. Guess they have one thing in common beyond their love of certain literature: Front row. Always.

They don't talk. The other girl doesn't even look Kate's way. The rest of the seats between them and around them fill up. The first speaker taps the microphone to get their attention. Everyone looks up at the blonde woman in a black pantsuit and white silk blouse. Her blonde hair flows down her shoulders. Piercing blue eyes look out into the audience, everyone now attentive. 

"Good afternoon. My name is Jill Carlan, I am the Dean of Harvard College and a legal studies professor here. Before I held this position as an administrator, I taught at the Harvard Law school, where I graduated years ago. Before Harvard Law, I was a student at Harvard College for undergrad, just like all of you. I remember how scared I was about the next four years ahead of me and if you are anything like the typical college freshman, you are too. And I bet that with that fear, is also pure excitement to be here at this great institution and for whatever adventures await you." She smiles at the students, some beaming, some nervous and jittery. "Class of 2023, welcome to Harvard. It is such an honor to have all of you here today. I have no doubt that you are all bright minds. I also have no doubt that the lessons you learn here the next four years will empower you to go forth into the world and better it with your knowledge and ideas. So, I am not going to spend time telling you that you deserve to be here or what the next four years will teach you. Instead, I want to tell you that I remember sitting where you are right now, and thinking that I had so much time, but now, older and wiser, I know that college flies by and these years don't last forever. So, while you are here, take it all in. Don't take a single moment for granted. It will be over before you realize. You worked hard to get here, and you deserve to treasure every second you get at Harvard. Time is finite."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually go to Harvard and while I know the entire Boston area VERY well, I don't know what is on the Harvard campus so there will be many instances of This Is Not Where That Is but shhhhh :')
> 
> Also, this is so brief but this is inspired by how I spend my mornings---except I am lucky to have a gorgeous soccer field on my campus from the highest bleacher of which I watch the sunrise as the morning light beams on my face---and yes, I am living the dream.

On the first day of classes, Kate wakes up at 6:02 in the morning. It's the exact moment of sunrise. She doesn't have her first class---Political Science 101---until eight but nevertheless, she wakes up and prepares herself for the day. After checking the weather, she puts on a light sweater. Making sure she has her phone, headphones, and her student ID in her phone wallet, she exits her dorm room---a single.

She walks around the entire stretch of campus she is on, avoiding the streets. It's so early that the tourists have yet to flood her school in flashes of photographs. She finds herself sat on a park bench, feet on the ground, back straight, eyes closed, soft piano music playing, facing the sun.

Sandra walks by the meditating young woman in the dark blue sweater and smiles at the sight. Not wanting to disturb, she walks away, towards a fountain, where she sits at the edge of the spray's reach, and reads for her women's studies class. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things You Need To Do At Least Once First Week Of Freshman Year Of College:  
\- go somewhere with a beautiful view and watch the sun rise over your new home all by yourself and find solace in that oneness with all that is around you and precious on this earth  
\- take a long walk with your new friends around campus with no particular destination and for no particular reason in the middle of the night and take it all in that you've made it here  
\- ask your new friends about their philosophical beliefs and their life stories and what is dearest to their heart and truly get to know who they are in that deeply emotional and intellectual way
> 
> I say this because it is those moments in the early morning before the rest of the world wakes up, those moments late at night when everyone else is asleep, those moments spent in deep discussion and quiet reflection about the things closest to your heart... it's those moments that you will forever remember and forever be changed by.


End file.
